Billy Thomas (born December 23, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and several other professional leagues. He is currently the head boys' basketball coach at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri.
Early Life and College Career
Thomas was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and attended Loyola College Prep. He played college basketball for the University of Kansas from 1994 to 1998 under head coach Roy Williams. During his four-year career with the Jayhawks, Thomas scored 1,152 points (ranking 37th on KU's all-time scoring list at the time) and set a school record with 269 three-point field goals made (later broken by Jeff Boschee). He also held the school record for three-point field goals made in a conference game, connecting on eight against Texas on January 10, 1998. Thomas was part of four NCAA Tournament teams and four conference championship teams, and Kansas went undefeated in Allen Fieldhouse during his entire tenure. He was named All-Big 12 in the 1997–98 season.
Professional Career
Thomas went undrafted after graduating in 1998. Over a professional career spanning from 1998 to 2010, he played in the NBA, NBA Development League, Continental Basketball Association (CBA), and leagues in Argentina, Italy, Serbia, Greece, and the Philippines.
In the NBA, Thomas played for three teams:
- New Jersey Nets (2004–05, 2007–08): 29 games, averaging 3.2 points per game
- Washington Wizards (2005–06): 17 games, averaging 2.2 points per game
- Cleveland Cavaliers (2007–08): 7 games, averaging 1.7 points per game
His NBA career totals: 53 games, 144 points, 52 rebounds, 26 assists, 25 steals.
Notable achievements in other leagues include:
- NBDL Sportsmanship Award (2002–03) while playing for the Greenville Groove
- All-NBDL First Team (2002)
- CBA Newcomer of the Year and All-CBA First Team (2005) with the Dakota Wizards
- All-NBA D-League Third Team (2008) with the Colorado 14ers
- D-League All-Star (2008)
- Played for Red Star Belgrade in Serbia (2006–07), averaging 13.9 points in the Adriatic League
Coaching Career
After retiring from professional play, Thomas became the head boys' basketball coach at The Barstow School in Kansas City, Missouri, beginning in the 2010–11 season. In the 2015–16 season, Barstow was ranked first in the small school category by the Kansas City Star. In 2021, he became the head coach for the Rockhurst High School basketball team. He also operates the Billy Thomas Hoops Academy in Kansas City, Missouri.
